President’s dalliance with Iran and snubbing of Western allies has caused a diplomatic crisis that has resulted in a tumbling market and foretells economic pain

Turkey’s stock market has lost 17% in Euro terms since its late-August high point, courtesy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan overplaying his hand with Western allies.

The crisis in US-Turkish relations had been building for weeks, but became an open rupture when the US State Department suspended visa approvals for Turkish citizens traveling to the United States after Turkish police arrested a Turkish employee of the American embassy at Ankara for alleged participation in last summer’s coup attempt. The US denounced the arrest and dismissed the charges as “wholly without merit,” suspending visa approvals, and the Turkish government reciprocated with a similar ban.